Author: Nadz
Email: vegitto02 at yahoo dot com

Disclaimer:
The title "DragonTek" is owned by the author.
Any characters owned by the producers of Tekkaman, Dragonball Z, Dragonball GT, or Rurouni Kenshin are, of course, the property of those respective individuals or companies. Any original characters are strictly owned by the author of this fan fiction.
The story line of the entire DragonTek series is also owned strictly by me.
This story may not be distributed to anybody without the author's permission. However, the author does encourage you to welcome your friends to read DragonTek on FanFiction dot net. Much thanks...

DragonTek (Part III: The Vengeance Saga)

Chapter 29 – An Unreasonable Demand?

'He's very cute,' Milly smiled, peering at the resting Kenshin. They were both of the same age, yet she was a Space Knight while he was still in high school. That didn't really make a difference to her, for she had already decided to ask him out on a date after this whole ordeal was over.

"How is he doing?" Levin asked, entering the infirmary room and giving her a cup of cocoa.

"Thanks, Levin. He seems to be fine for now… just resting, that's all," she replied, smiling.

She had been reviewing several of Freeman's files for the past hour. She had learned a lot of interesting information, a lot of which involved Blade. One report was particularly interesting. It was about half a page long and gave a summary regarding Blade's possible past. It mentioned a deep space expedition, led by a man named Aiba Kouzou. One of his sons' names was Takaya, and a note at the top said that Blade's real name might indeed be Takaya. Milly decided that she would check up on that later.

"I've started designing the Sol-Tekkaman unit in the Hawking Labs down below. I don't know how or when Commander Freeman thought up of this," Levin started.

"Yes, it's surprising how much he had kept hidden from us," Milly replied softly.

"WHAT?"

"Don't sound so surprised Blade. Do you really think I would give you that information that easily?" asked Shinya with a snicker. "I thought it was obvious that I would want something in return."

"I'm not going to let you have her," Blade said, now very annoyed. "You bastard."

"Fine with me; I guess you'll never figure out how to defeat those plants," Shinya continued. He watched Aki's face; it had turned a bit paler, and he could tell that she was a bit scared. "See you."

"Wait!" Aki called out, and she slowly walked towards the evil twin. Blade looked worriedly at her and tried to get in her way, but Aki nodded at him and gently brushed him aside. With a few more steps, she stood about three feet in front of Shinya.

"I will come with you," she whispered. "Now please tell us the secret."

Without another word, Takaya's twin stepped towards the young lady and placed his right arm around her back. He touched her cheek with his left hand and brought her face towards his. Aki breathed hard as she realized what Shinya had truly wanted – not even a second had passed until he brought his lips onto hers. Takaya steamed as he watched his evil brother kiss the girl he had begun to care about.

'Her lips are so warm and soft,' Shinya thought, truly enjoying the moment even if she wasn't returning the kiss. 'My, does this feel good – to feel the good parts of humanity again. And she's pretty.'

Takaya fumed as he watched the two. He paid careful attention towards Aki and truly wondered if she was enjoying it. If so, that would really make him mad. Takaya interrupted his own thoughts when he let out a gasp; a small white glow had appeared around Aki's lips.

"Shinya, are you there? It's me, Aki…"

"Aki… I hardly know you… Where am I? What am I doing here in this white void?"

"Our sub-consciences are speaking now to each other. Wake up, Shinya… the Radam have taken over your body and your mind…"

"How do I wake up, Aki? Please help me…please don't let me hurt Takaya…"

"Wake up, Shinya… wake up, now…"

"What are you doing?" Saber growled, opening his eyes and pushing her away. "How dare you!"

"Wake up, Shinya; I know you're in there," begged Aki softly, yet desperately. He snorted.

"Well, at least I've learned something very useful. What you did to me was probably what you did to my brother. Now I know your little secret – you had talked with the real Takaya trapped inside and succeeded in bringing him out. Lord Omega would be quite interested in hearing about your ability."

"I gave you what you wanted, Shinya," cut in Aki, cursing that her ability was now known. She turned to a surprised Noal, who had no idea she had powers of any sort. He felt hurt she'd never told him.

"Now tell us how to defeat those spore plants," Aki ordered, scowling.

"A deal is a deal. Besides, you were more than satisfying," snickered Shinya, noticing Takaya's face burning red. "A spore plant only becomes vulnerable when it engulfs another organism. In this case, they are prioritized to capture human beings. When a plant engulfs a human, the human's nervous system and that of the plant become temporarily linked into one. Their body energies merge, and essentially they become a unified being. The only way to destroy the plant is to kill the human inside of it. When the human dies, the plant perishes with it. This is the only vulnerability of the Radam spore trees."

"What the hell kind of solution was that?" barked Noal. "That was terrible!"

"Look at it this way," continued Shinya, now looking at Noal. "If you don't kill the humans while they are trapped in the plants, they will emerge as Tekkamen loyal to Lord Omega – not to mention that the plants will still live and continue to convert more people into Radam warriors. You would have to kill those new warriors anyway, just as you want to kill me. There would be no way to save them other than killing them before their complete enslavement. You might as well end their suffering that way."

"What you're tell us to do is murder thousands of innocent people," Miyuki cried in a low voice.

"Perhaps," Saber smirked, "but it's what you humans call 'the lesser of two evils'."

"Shinya, why did you tell us this information?" asked Takaya curiously. "What is your motive?"

"You all already carry the burden of saving this planet. Now, I have described to you a solution for one of your major problems, but I know that the solution is too much to bear for you all. Now you feel trapped – you know that killing those people would be the only way to stop those plants, but can you bring yourself to do it?" he started to chuckle. "Basically, I wanted to screw with your minds."

"You truly are a bastard, Saber," growled Shinjo.

"I know," Shinya now laughed out loud. "You should see your faces right now; you all look like idiots. But, now that you know the secret, there's a slight chance that you may be able to carry it out and succeed. The only one here who can do that is you, brother. So once I kill you now, I'll have my complete satisfaction – your friends will know how to stop the plants but won't be able to do it without your help."

"You said you didn't come here to fight," mumbled Takaya, and Saber snorted. "Come, Pegas!"

"Tek-Setta!" roared Shinya as he revealed his ruby crystal and leaped into the air. The fierce crystal shell enveloped him once again and broke apart, revealed the deadly form of Tekkaman Saber. Generating his lance, he hurled it at Takaya, who had plenty of time to dodge. Shinjo watched in silence, for he was still badly hurting from his last encounter. He couldn't tell how strong this red and black Tekkaman was, but if this one was anywhere near as strong as Blood, he would get killed very quickly.

"Tek-Setta!" yelled Takaya as Pegas landed through the trees and next to its master. Saber waited as his twin transformed and emerged from the robot as Tekkaman Blade. "You won't kill me, Saber."

The four on the ground watched as the two flew for each other, clashing their lances and striking out with fierceness. Aki wiped her lips and wished for Blade to finish Saber off at that very moment.

He opened his eyes and felt the soft ooze massage his irises. Curled in a fetal position, he was helpless as he continued to feel disoriented and dizzy. It had not been long since he had felt intense pain – the feeling of all of his power being drained from him as a vacuum sucked air. He looked to his left, and through the pink ooze, he saw his friend Vegita curled in another pod. He too seemed confused, helpless.

'What am I in? Where are we?' wondered Son Goku Jr. 'I have to get out of this thing.'

'There is no need to get out… everything is fine in here… the Earth has been saved from the Radam…' a bodiless voice said in his head. Pleased, Goku closed his eyes and continued to rest.

"I wonder what else the Commander had kept hidden from us," Levin said softly to himself.

"Will those Sol-Tekkamen units be too hard to design?" wondered Milly. "I mean, creating a metal suit that simulates Tekkaman armor doesn't sound that easy, you know?"

"Yeah, it'll take a lot of thought, not to mention that it'll be hard to build too. By the way, when did Freeman think of building these things?" asked Levin, sipping his cocoa.

"When you and Honda were building Pegas. The idea had suddenly hit him one day, I guess."

"Pegas…" trailed Levin, remembering that the members of the last mission had not yet returned. Seconds later, the boy lying on the bed in front of him stirred slightly. "Milly, your friend is awake again."

"Kenshin, I told you not to move," Milly warned, witnessing him try to sit up. "You're still hurt!"

"Yeah, don't you remember that how hurt you got during your last battle?" Levin asked sharply.

"Levin, don't say that!" Milly whispered to her friend. "That wasn't nice at all!"

"No, it's okay," Kenshin replied, glancing at them. What Levin asked was perfectly reasonable; the Radam called Spear had used some sort of strange attack, and he had been able to do nothing about it.

'Why was I there in the first place? That's right, we had to rescue this Tekkaman Rapier, supposedly Blade's sister. She was really injured… I remember her cry, though, it sounded so…'

"Where is Tekkaman Rapier?" asked Kenshin. "What happened to her? Where is she?"

"Calm down, Kenshin," said Milly softly, getting up and stepping towards him. "I don't know."

"Then tell me… who is Tekkaman Rapier?" he demanded. "Tell me now!"

"Um, Miyuki," Milly replied, noticing the expression of his face turn white. "Aiba Miyuki."

"Miyuki…" he whispered, his eyes growing wide. 'THAT WAS MIYUKI?!'

"Idiot," Saber chuckled as he easily evaded Blade's thrust. He swiped for Blade's knees, but the good Tekkaman blocked his brother's attack just in time. Both continued to slash at the other, parrying and evading as needed. Saber knocked Blade's lance out of his hand, and he drove his weapon into Blade's thigh. Saber pulled out his lance and snorted upon seeing Blade stagger back and grab his leg wound.

"I told you, Blade, you are going to die today. You just are too weak to stand up against me."

"I will not die," Blade whispered to himself and launched himself in the air. "I will not die here!"

"Ignorant fool," Saber yelled as he followed his brother. He threw his lance at Blade, who quickly brushed it aside with his own weapon. Saber retrieved his lance and stopped in air, just in front of his brother. "Brother, seeing your pained expression now has made me realize how much I enjoy seeing you suffer. I saw you fume when I kissed your woman; it makes me sick with delight imagining how much emotional pain you would feel seeing her dead."

"You psycho!" yelled Blade. "Don't lay a damn hand on her!"

"Try to stop me," Saber swooped downwards, heading straight for Aki, standing next to Miyuki. Both looked up with fear as they noticed the evil Tekkaman head towards them. Blade desperately tried to follow his brother but failed to reach him. He watched helplessly and with great dread as Saber hurled the lance down with great speed towards the two women.

"NO!" Blade yelled, holding his head. "AKI! MIYUKI!"

"You knew her from before?"

"Yes," replied Kenshin, his heart pounding and his forehead sweaty. 'I can't believe this…'

"Where do you know her from?" asked Milly, trying to make sense of everything.

"Miyuki…" he said. "Miyuki and I went to school together for three years. She was a lot like me, quiet and contemplative. We became great friends. Her family was extremely nice, especially her brothers Shinya and Takaya. We had done homework together a lot and shared our problems with each other…"

"Then what happened?" asked Levin, very interested in what the boy had to say.

"Two years ago, she suddenly disappeared. She left without even telling me. I even went to their house, but it was completely empty; their whole family had vanished. Nobody, not even the police, had any idea as to what had happened to them," said Kenshin, feeling a knot in his throat. Those days were very painful for him; he had lost a friend he had deeply cared about. She was a friend he could trust completely; he could be his true self around Miyuki. Despite their friendship, she had left without a trace.

"It's been so long since she left," he said softly, wondering if he could forgive her for it. "And I saw her right there in front of me… I just didn't realize it was her. I'm so stupid."

"No, Kenshin," Milly interrupted, holding his hand. "There's no way you could have known. Come to think of it, you never even saw Blade with us, did you? If you did, you would have instantly recognized him. Don't call yourself stupid."

"I want to see her again," Kenshin whispered to himself. "I have to find her."

"NO!" Blade yelled, holding his head. "AKI! MIYUKI! …"

The lance suddenly stopped two feet in front of the women. Saber grunted in vexation as he noticed the cripple hover in the air right in front of Aki and Miyuki. His hand was gripping the middle of the long portion of the lance; it was clear to Saber that this man had halted the weapon's flight path before it could harm anybody. The Radam Tekkaman cursed to himself, for he had underestimated this person.

"Attacking defenseless people is a pretty lousy thing to do, isn't it?" Shinjo growled, tossing away Saber's weapon. "How would you like a solid beating in return?"

With that, Shinjo shot up straight towards Saber, who backed away several meters. He minimally charged and fired a desperate Voltekker blast at the man, but Shinjo gathered chi in his palm and countered Saber's blast. Saber turned to flee but stopped short, seeing Blade in front of him, who extended his lance.

'Damn!' swore the Radam warrior, now trapped between the cripple and his brother. Shinjo came up from behind Saber and delivered a strong kick to the back of his head, knocking Saber towards Blade. Saber watched in horror as Blade came up from under him and struck. The Radam Tekkaman dodged just in time from being killed but felt extreme pain as Blade drilled his lance through the side of his waist.

Before Saber could escape, Blade fired a Voltekker blast that completely enveloped his evil twin. He heard his brother roar in pain from the power of his blast as it burned through his armor.

"That'll be enough for you, Saber," Blade stated as he retracted his blaster cannons.

"Now, you die," Shinjo growled as he placed his palm near Saber's chest. Yet, he was suddenly distracted as a weapon flew directly towards him. Shinjo moved just in time and turned to look at his attacker, who looked vaguely familiar.

"One of your friends has come to save your sorry ass," the crippled man sneered.

"Help me, brother," desperately whispered Saber, badly weakened by the attack.

"Tekkaman Spear…" said Blade. "How did you find us?"

Spear did not respond but quickly picked up his brother's figure. Saber was badly wounded, for he was stabbed and had taken a Voltekker blast at point blank range. He flew right past his brother's opponents and headed straight up for space. Looking behind, he made sure that nobody followed him.

"Are you alright?" Takaya, human again, asked Aki and his sister.

"Yes, his weapon didn't even touch us, thanks to this man," Aki responded, looking at Shinjo.

"No need to thank me. We all need to support one other when fighting the enemy," he replied.

"Enemy," whispered Miyuki, closing her eyes. "How strange it is to call my brother my enemy."

"I'm sorry," replied Shinjo in an apologetic tone, but Takaya shook his head.

"No, he has become our enemy," Takaya stated. "And he must be eliminated."

"I could have done so had his brother not interfered," muttered Shinjo. "You know, I think they are the ones that had hurt Saki and Kenshin…"

"Kenshin!" Miyuki blurted, snapping her head towards the man. "Did you just say Kenshin?"

"Well… yes," Shinjo replied with a confused expression. "Why?"

Miyuki stood stunned, her face paling. Everybody shot her a curious look, save for Takaya.

"Well, we'll get to see them all," Aki broke the silence. "Shinjo, we're headed to the secondary Space Knight Facility, only several miles away. Hopefully, your sister and Kenshin will both be there."

"Now we'll have to be extra careful since the enemy knows we're here," muttered Noal.

"You're right," Aki responded. "But we'll worry about them if they come back."

"Kenshin…" Miyuki whispered softly to herself.